PUBLIC INPUT SOUGHT
Residents will have the opportunity to review and provide feedback on preliminary project plans during a public input meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. July 20 at Edgewood High School, 3045 Busenbark Road, Trenton
8 MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTIONS IN BUTLER COUNTY
The eight most dangerous intersections in Butler County’s unincorporated areas:
1. Butler Warren Road at Barret Road
2. Morman Road at Stahlheber Road
3. Stillwell Beckett Road at Ohio 732
4. Layhigh Road at Ohio 748 (Previously ranked No. 1 until a roundabout was constructed last year.)
5. Ohio 503 at Ohio 744
6. Ross Hanover Road at Ohio 129
7. Ohio 73 at Huston Road and U.S. 127. (State has relocated Huston Road which has helped to reduce crashes in that intersection.)
8. Ohio 73 at Jacksonburg Road.
SOURCE: Butler County Engineer’s Office
For years, it has remained one of Butler County’s most dangerous and deadliest intersections, but sometime in 2019, a roundabout will be constructed at Ohio 73 and Jacksonburg Road in an effort to improve safety.
A public input meeting this month is the next step in the process to make more lasting improvements at the intersection, where six fatalities occurred between 2012 and 2015.
A safety study by the Ohio Department of Transportation determined the intersection was the fifth worst rural intersection in the state, said Brian Cunningham, communications manager for ODOT’s District 8 office in Lebanon.
The safety ranking was based on the number of crashes, the severity of the crashes and traffic volume, he said.
Because it is part of Ohio 73, the Ohio Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over the intersection.
Cunningham said while the skewed intersection has “a relatively low traffic volume” — an average daily flow of 7,000 vehicles — right angle and T-bone crashes keep occurring.
Previous fixes already tried have included flashing warning lights, rumble strips and flashing stop signs at the intersection, which sits at the bottom of two hills along Ohio 73.
A feasibility study was completed at the end of June by the consulting firm Burgess & Niple, which recommended a roundabout.
“There was discussion about installing traffic signals at the intersection, but roundabouts allow for efficient traffic flow and increase awareness of the necessity to slow down,” Cunningham said.
The estimated cost to build a roundabout is between $1.5 million and $2.5 million and will require the acquisition of right of way around the intersection. Right of way acquisition could take up to two years to complete before construction could begin, according to Cunningham.
Chris Petrocy, BCEO spokesman, said Butler County has been building roundabouts since 2008.
“Our roundabouts have proven to be very beneficial in reducing accidents,” Petrocy said. “To date, where the county installed roundabouts, there has been a 70 percent reduction in overall crashes, 80 percent fewer injury crashes and a 100 percent reduction in serious and fatal crashes.”
Something has to be done at the dangerous intersection, said Wayne Twp. Trustee Chairman Larry Setser.
The intersection is deceptive and drivers tend to ease out too far into it to make turns onto Jacksonburg Road from Ohio 73, he said, adding that many people who live in the area go out of their way to avoid the intersection.
“As far as the township trustees are concerned, we want anything to stop the carnage out there,” Setser said. “This has been a problem for many, many years.”
Residents around the intersection have mixed feelings about the proposed roundabout.
Nate Kelley, who just moved into the house that sits on top of the intersection, said he thinks a roundabout could improve safety. Before moving there, Kelley said he lived in Seven Mile for years and is aware of the intersection’s deadly reputation.
“I was always told not to go down this road if I could avoid it,” he said. “I think it (a roundabout) will definitely make it safer and slow down speeders. I think it will also help to slow down trucks.”
Seth Klapper, who also lives on one of the intersection’s corners, has grown up watching the crashes over the past 11 years that his family has lived there.
“Me and my Dad are usually the first to run out to a crash and help get people out or direct traffic,” he said. “I’ve seen Air Care land in my neighbor’s yard three times.”
But Klapper, 18, who is heading to college this fall, thinks the roundabout idea is “a poor decision.”
“Everybody flies down here and there’s no time to brake,” he said. “It causes bigger crashes I think.”
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